Welcome to GRAPES

GRid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems is an NSF-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center established in
2009 to research new ways to integrate power electronics into the electric grid so
as to support realization of a Smarter Grid.

The Center is cooperative in several senses:

The research team includes faculty, staff, and students at the University of South
Carolina, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee.

Research projects are supported by paid memberships of interested industrial organizations.

The industrial members of the center help us to identify the most challenging, timely,
and crucial technical advances that are needed to move the industry forward.

The USC site of the Center is located in the Swearingen Engineering Building at 301
Main Street on the USC campus. The Center makes use of all of our laboratories, including
Power Electronics, Power Routing, Power Sources, and Real-time Electro Mechanics.
In addition, the resources of our partner – University of Arkansas – are also available, including a noteworthy 6 MVA testing facility at the National
Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission.